Waiving the cooling off period?

madkingsoup

I'm just transferring my gas and electricity (for the umpteenth time - I have no loyalty to any company except the cheapest) and it has occurred to me that this statutory 14 day cooling off period is a royal pain in the bum to an energy supplier tart such as me.

Is there any way that one can waive this period if the confirmation letter is received and accepted?

I just called E.ON (for 'tis they) and they said that because it's the law, it cannot be waived. This sounds silly to me, but is there a way to get around the 14 period that takes less than 14 days?

Cheers ears
G

I_luv_cats

I don't think you can as there has to be checks and balances to make sure you are really wanting to switch suppliers.

As you are no doubt aware people have been switched without their consent.

madkingsoup

I am indeed aware, but the checks and balances are there for my benefit and I should be able to say "Yes, my good new energy supplier; I chose this path and did so with a full understanding of what I was doing, therefore please proceed post haste with the transfer so that I don't have to continue paying a higher price for one second longer than I need to."

Unless it's not actually a right to cancel, but instead a mandatory 2 week insertion into the process.

If it's a right, I should be able to waive it, as with any right. If it's a mandatory part of the process, so be it - I'm just wondering what it actually is...

Fairzo

To put the other side of the argument I was going to switch to Eon and had no intention, when I applied, of changing my mind. If there had been an option to waive the cooling off period I would probably have taken it. However, over those 14 days I gradually came to the conclusion that the Eon deal was not as suitable as an alternative, so cancelled.

SwanJon

Yes you can waive it, but you need to specifically request the supplier to do this. As Fairzo says, do your maths first.
I imagine not all staff will have the ability to do it however.

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

Hi madkingsoup,

Sorry for the late reply

As you know, the main reason for the 14 day cooling off period is to give the customer the opportunity to cancel the switch.

This is also the time that the customer would receive the details of the switch through the post and check these are correct.

Also, if a switch has been processed erroneously it can be cancelled easily at this point.

There may be a time when the cooling off period can be waived, but this is rare and there would need to be a valid reason for doing this.

Helena